South Bay falls to Reno in back-and-forth battle

RENO, NV (Feb. 7, 2018) – The South Bay Lakers suffered a close loss to the Reno Bighorns, 113-110 (box score), on Wednesday night. The Lakers (21-13) had six players score in double figures as Gary Payton II and Travis Wear both tallied double-doubles. Reno (20-14) outscored the Lakers in the paint by 10 points (56-46) and were led by 21 points from Matt Jones.

Andre Ingram had it going from deep and hit all three of his triples in the first to help give the Lakers a 34-27 lead through one. Marcus Williams scored 13 points in the first quarter for the Bighorns. Reno took a 66-55 halftime lead as they outscored the Lakers by 18 points in the second period, led by 11 points from Jones and 10 points off the bench from Josh Hagins. Stephaun Branch and Scott Machado combined for 14 points in the period to keep South Bay within striking distance.

Thomas Bryant and Demarcus Holland came alive in the third, combining for 21 points and leading South Bay on an 11-0 run to get back in the game. However, nine points from Aaron Harrison guided the Bighorns to a 95-91 lead through three. Machado tallied seven points in the fourth, but Hagins and Stockton combined for 12 points to secure the win for Reno.

Jones (21 points, five rebounds, four steals), Hagins (16 points, six steals) and Williams (16 points) led the way for Reno. Harrison (14 points, eight rebounds), JaKarr Sampson (13 points, nine rebounds, four blocks) and David Stockton (13 points, four assists) all had valuable contributions in the win.

Double-doubles from Payton II (14 points, 11 rebounds) and Wear (15 points, 12 rebounds) paced the Lakers and Machado led the scoring with 22 points to go along with five assists. Bryant finished with 19 points, seven rebounds and a career-high three blocks, while Holland (10 points, six rebounds) and Ingram (15 points) also finished in double figures for South Bay, but the Lakers couldn’t overcome a season-low 11 assists as they fell to Reno for the second time this season.

The South Bay Lakers return home to take on the Northern Arizona Suns on Friday, February 9 at 7:00 from the UCLA Health Training Center. The Lakers won the first two meetings with the Suns by an average of 14.5 points, including a 25-point win on January 31. Tickets for the game are available in advance online or on the day of the game at the box office, which will be open starting at 5:30 p.m. Parking for all South Bay Lakers home games is free.

The NBA G League’s South Bay Lakers, the first franchise in G League history to be owned by an NBA team (Los Angeles Lakers), returns for its 11th season of competition in 2017-18. The Lakers franchise has established itself as a top producer of NBA-ready talent, totaling 26 NBA Call-Ups and developing 21 Lakers assignment players since the inaugural 2006-07 season. The Lakers have claimed three division titles and have twice competed in the NBA G League Finals, most recently in 2015-16.